


Shirtless

by PerriewinkleNerdie



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novels)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 18:22:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30042849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerriewinkleNerdie/pseuds/PerriewinkleNerdie
Summary: Ethan gets jealous when he sees Claire with a shirtless Tobias.
Relationships: Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart)
Kudos: 19





	Shirtless

Claire’s vision was getting slightly blurry, letters on the paper she was reading shuffling. Her shift was crawling to an eventual close, the world outside the windows drowning in darkness and the hospital was quiet, almost like it was empty.

The tranquility was slowly broken by the quiet hum of the door opening and a heavy pant. She turned around, not really knowing what to expect but what she saw surpassed everything her mind could have come up with.

Tobias Carrick walked into the office, clutching his shoulder, a patch of blood staining his white coat.

“What the hell happened?” she stood up faster than she could register it, her eyes trained on the red patch of material.

“I tried to dodge that ridiculous piece of wires on wheels and fell onto the metal box hanging on the wall.” He explained, his voice a bit shaky as he tried not to let his discomfort show.

“Funny, Ethan used the exact same words to describe Binx.” Claire pointed out, sending him a puzzled look. Tobias hesitated, sensing an unspoken question hanging in the air, but after a beat, he decided to let it go for now.

“Do we have anything to stop the bleeding in here or do I have to get myself admitted?”

“Just- sit down there.” she waved her hand towards the table, walking to the cabinet to fetch a suturing kit.

As she turned around, she was met with a sight of a shirtless Tobias Carrick, a smirk on his face. it was apparent that he was enjoying it – even more when she scoffed and didn’t spare him a second look, entirely unfazed by his stunt.

“This might sting a bit.” Claire muttered, cleaning the wound to expose the cut. Tobias watched her silently, much closer than he probably should. To break the silence, she cleared her throat before speaking. “So, how was your first day in the team.”

“Enlightening.” He replied, waiting for her to look up at him so he could grin right at her. “I knew this was going to be fun, but I didn’t know just how much.”

“Of course, you’re enjoying it.” she shot back, shaking her head while she prepared the local anesthesia.

Tobias used her lack of focus on him to drop his act for a moment. She worked with precision and subtleness that was rare in their profession, her ability to make both her patients and her coworkers feel comfortable unlike anything he’s ever seen in a doctor. If nothing else, it was going to be refreshing to work with someone like that.

“I especially wanted to experience working with _you_.” he tried again, observing how she tensed at his words. “You’ve had me curiously watching you since the night of the attack.” Realizing that he’s made her even more uncomfortable, he followed up on his thought. “Both professionally and personally.”

“And just what about my personal life had you so curious?”

“Your ability to bring Ethan Ramsey to his knees.”

Claire stopped what she was doing, looking at him again with a raised eyebrow. Any attempt to say anything ended in silence, unsure how to proceed.

“It was clear to me at the softball game that he had feelings for you. Ethan isn’t exactly subtle. By the time I saw him next, unable to focus or keep calm while you were in that room, it was obvious.” He sucked in a huff of air as she administered the numbing agent. After a moment, he relaxed, his shoulders sagging a bit. A smirk came back onto his face, accompanying his next words. “Of course, I’m not about to tell him that I know that – it’s too much fun to tease him.”

“You do realize who you’re talking to, right?” Claire reminded him, looking at him incredulously. Tobias nodded, still smiling, a knowing glint in his eyes.

“Yes. But you enjoy teasing him just as much. Maybe he even deserves it a little bit.”

She hesitated, her eyes widening at the words. Tobias hasn’t been around long enough to really experience the dynamic the team had, but what he did see that day must have been enough to come to his own conclusions. A telling look he was giving her now told her as much.

Claire’s neutral front was finally pierced through with a laugh, shaking her head amusingly.

The door opened again, this time revealing Ethan Ramsey. He expected to see his girlfriend, reading an article like he’s seen her doing twenty minutes ago. What he didn’t expect was to see his girlfriend standing close to his friend-turned-rival. He didn’t really know what the situation was, but the fact that Tobias was shirtless and was staring at her didn’t sit well with him to say the least.

He felt a spark of jealousy that appeared earlier that day flare up into a roaring flame.

“Ethan! How are you doing this fine evening?” Tobias grinned, finally looking away from Claire to observe the other man in the room. He took great pleasure in watching how tense and on edge he seemed. Mission definitely accomplished.

“I could stand to be better.” He answered, undertone of anger in his voice. Claire looked over her shoulder, her eyes softening at the sight of her boyfriend. Ethan felt the tension lessen a bit – for just a moment, however, because as soon as she turned back towards whatever the hell she was doing, he was back on the defensive mode. “What’s going on here?”

“Ramsey, relax. I’m just receiving top-notch care from Dr. Herondale here.” Tobias grinned smugly, nodding towards the woman standing next to him. His eyes moved onto her and stayed there, observing her intensely and with something else in his gaze. “Get comfortable, this might take a while.”

Ethan huffed in annoyance but didn’t say anything else, instead leaning against the wall with his arms crossed so he could watch the situation unfold. Claire finished the last stich a long while later, cutting the string off and leaning in to check if everything was done correctly.

“How did I do, Dr. Herondale?” Tobias spoke in a low tone, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear him. An unsettling feeling set in Ethan’s stomach, the situation unnerving.

“Like a champ.”

Tobias stood up, putting clean scrubs on instead of his destroyed shirt. He thanked her with a wide smile and a wink, making sure to let Ethan see both of those actions, then moved towards the exit, patting Ethan’s shoulder. He flinched away from the contact, his lips pursed in a stern line.

Claire cleaned up the table, then turned around to face her boyfriend. She watched him curiously, noticing the unease in his posture and his movements when he walked up to her. His mouth opened and closed a couple of times, no words coming out.

“Don’t go crazy.” she muttered, leaning an inch closer to him. “He needed medical attention and I _am_ a doctor.”

“I can bet you that’s not the only attention he’d like from you.” he grumbled, irritation washing over his words.

“Are you jealous?” Claire knew what was going on with him, no questions needed. She also knew that Tobias had no intentions of pursuing anything with her in their current predicament. Ethan didn’t know that, though, and while it might be a tiny bit cruel to not put him out of his misery just yet, she figured that after all the stunts he’s been pulling lately, some jealousy might put things into perspective for him.

“He was shirtless.” He continued, trying to prove his point.

“Ethan.”

“He was basically undressing you with his eyes.”

“And you’re not a fan of that, I take it?” she laughed teasingly, watching how his eyes narrowed and darkened, hyper focused on her.

“Only when I do it.”

“Is that so?” she mused softly, climbing onto the tips of her toes to press a ghost of a touch to his lips with hers. Ethan leaned forward, trying to kiss her, but she shook her head smugly, dodging him and grabbing him by his arms, maneuvering them around the table and onto the wall.

Claire pushed him up against it, staring into his eyes for a prolonged moment before finally kissing him, slowly and deeply. Taking every last bit of air away from him. He dove towards her, pressing her closer to him with wild determination of a desperate man.

With controlled movements, she peeled his white coat away from his body, throwing it onto the ground without a single care. Tracing the muscles of his arms, she followed the lines towards his chest, reaching the buttons of his shirt.

Each button that was undone coincided the movement of his hands, lower and lower, down her body until, just as the last button gave way to her ministrations and she pulled the fabric of his shirt out of his pants, he was gripping handfuls of her coat and dress, grabbing any part of her he could reach.

Their kisses got heated by the second button. By the fourth, they intensified into a scolding fire and by the sixth, they were ravenous – so ravenous that Claire was one second away from pushing him onto the floor and riding him until he groaned her name loud enough for the whole hospital to hear.

“I always knew Claire was the one in charge in this relationship.”

They broke apart with a surprised gasp at the sound of Tobias’s voice. Claire rushed to push the material of her white coat down to cover herself.

“Nice legs, Herondale.”

“Can we help you?” Ethan asked, annoyance returning to every bone of his entire being.

“I was originally coming here to ask about the update on our patients since I got a page about the results coming in shortly but… “ he trailed off, smirking as he looked at Ethan’s shirt, still unbuttoned. “I can come back later if you guys want to continue.”

“Leave.” Out of patience for his ex-friend, Ethan ordered, his hand pointing towards the door. Tobias grinned.

“Noted.” He let silence hang for a beat. “I could also join you.”

“ _Tobias_.” Ethan repeated, his stern tone cracking around the edges at the memories of their time as friends, when teasing each other in such a manner was like a daily routine for them.

“Okay, okay, I get it. Just try not to break anything while you’re at it.” he raised his hands in surrender, winking at Claire again before leaving the room.

With a sigh, she turned back towards the man by her side, finding his eyes already on her. He gave her a puzzled look, the seemingly easy dynamic between Claire and Tobias pinching his side.

Claire hummed, breaking their eye contact to lean forward and press a kiss to his chest. And then another one. And another, tracing a line up his neck and towards his ear. The blood in his ears was creating a hum so powerful, he could barely hear her sigh.

“Saved by Tobias.” She nudged his jaw with her nose, his scent tickling her senses.

“Saved from what?” he questioned, breathing heavily at her touch.

“Well…” Claire dragged her hands down his chest, hooking her fingers into the beltloops of his pants to pull him closer. “If he didn’t walk in, I would have probably taken you right here, on the very floor we’re standing on.”

“And how exactly is that ‘saving’?” Ethan murmured, then flipped them around without a warning, pushing her up against the wall with a wicked grin. “We’ll pick this up later.”

“You promised me seconds. I expect there to be thirds too.”

“With you, I’m never going for less than fourths.”


End file.
